Beating Around The Bush

In the big picture scheme of things, Washington’s fixation with the war in Ukraine is for the most part a distraction and a sideshow from the main issue which confronts the Western world, namely, the issue of credibility and legitimacy in Washington and the need for its revival and renewal after decades of a global policy and strategy which has now largely failed. As long we are not directly confronting and tackling this issue of credibility and legitimacy in Washington, everything else amounts to a mere beating around the bush. 

And in order to get the message through to certain people in the American mainstream that this issue of credibility and legitimacy and its revival and renewal is more important than anything else and that it explains virtually everything that we are going through as a people on both a domestic and global scale and scope, one will have to rub certain people the wrong way and step on some toes per se. As Nietzsche said: 

“It is much more agreeable to offend and later ask forgiveness than to be offended and grant forgiveness. The one who does the former demonstrates his power and then his goodness. The other, if he does not want to be thought inhuman, must forgive; because of this coercion, pleasure in the other’s humiliation is slight.” 

Thus, and in a sense, offending certain people and stepping on some toes here and there is a preemptive move towards precluding and thwarting the consequences and adverse outcomes that could emerge if the issue of credibility and legitimacy is not addressed head-on. One must act before it is too late. Most people are essentially sleepwalking, and in order to awaken them to the consequences and outcomes of not addressing and taking on the issue of credibility and legitimacy which are largely unforeseen at the moment, a hard-nosed approach towards advocacy, activism, and strategic communication will have to be taken up to a certain extent. It has been said: “Our stability is but balance; and wisdom lies in masterful administration of the unforeseen.”

As a result, our actions and our efforts are a balance against entities and forces which could drag us into a dilemma and a dire situation stemming from the issue of credibility and legitimacy which is largely unforeseen at the moment. And if people interpret these actions and efforts as racist or insensitive or anything else, it is because they are oversensitive and self-centered. As Harry Truman said, if you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen. Our behavior pales in comparison to what the neocons have done to the world and to the global balance of power which is now causing immense suffering to the people of Ukraine, for instance. Hence, instead of looking at the appearance or surface of our actions and our words, one must go a step further and look at the intent and purpose behind what we are doing, namely, to act as a balance against entities and forces which can drag us either intentionally or unintentionally into what could be an inescapable dilemma as well as a dire situation stemming from the issue of credibility and legitimacy due in large part to their lack of credibility and legitimacy.